In the first line of this verse, there
are three syntactically isolated incomplete sentences. They are: 1) na antalikkhe (not in the
air). The subject and verb are omitted. The verb "to be" is implied and
it is negated by the negative particle na (not). It has an attribute,
the noun antalikkhe (in the air, locative singular). 2) na samuddamajjhe (not in
the middle of the ocean). The subject and verb are omitted. The verb "to
be" is implied and it is negated by the negative particle na (not).
It has an attribute, the compound samuddamajjhe (in the middle of
the ocean, locative singular). 3) na pabbatanaj
vivaraj pavissa (not entering the hole
in the mountains). The subject is omitted. The verb is pavissa (having
entered, gerundive). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).
The object is the noun vivaraj (the
hole, accusative singular) with its attribute, the noun pabbatanaj
(of mountains, genitive plural). The second line forms the main sentence.
It can be further subdivided into two segments: 1) na vijjati
so jagatippadeso (there is no place in the world). The subject is the
compound jagatippadeso (a place in the world, nominative singular).
It has an attribute, the personal pronoun so (that, nominative singular).
The verb is vijjati (exists, 3rd
person, singular, active, indicative, present tense). It is negated by
the negative particle na (not). 2) yatthatthito
mucceyya papakamma
(where being one would be released from the [consequences of] evil deeds).
The subject is the compound yatthatthito
(standing where, nominative singular). The verb is mucceyya (would
be released, 3rd person, singular, active, optative). The object
is the compound papakamma
(from evil deeds, ablative singular).

Commentary:

Three groups of monks were traveling
from far away to see the Buddha. On the way strange things happened to
them. The first group stayed in a village
on their way. Some people were cooking meal when their hut caught fire
and burned. A crow was flying over the place, got caught in the fire and
died. When they met the Buddha, he told
them this story. One farmer had a very lazy ox. It would not work, it would
only lie down, eat and sleep. The farmer once got so angry, that he put
a rope around the neck of the animal and set fire to it. So the ox died.
Because of this, the farmer was reborn as a crow and died in the fire himself. The second group took a boat. In the
middle of the ocean the ship would not suddenly move. They searched for
the unlucky person, who is causing this to happen. Three times lots were
drawn and three times it fell on the captain's wife. So at the end they
tied a pot of sand to her neck and drowned her. The ship then continued
to the port safely and the monks got to see the Buddha. He told them, that once there was
a woman who had a pet dog. The dog would follow her everywhere; it just
would not stay away even for a moment. Some people were making fun of her.
So she felt ashamed, tied a pot of sand around the dog's neck and drowned
it. Because of this, she was reborn as that unlucky woman who was drowned
by other people. The third group of seven monks stayed
in a cave overnight. In the middle of the night a big rock fell from the
mountain above and blocked the entrance into the cave. People discovered
them in the morning and tried to move the rock, but they were unable to
do it. Only on the seventh day they moved the rock away and the monks were
free. To them the Buddha related the story
of seven cowherds who chased an iguana into a mound and for fun closed
all the entrances. They let the iguana out only after seven days. So in
this life they were reborn as the seven monks who were trapped in the cave
for a week. At the end the Buddha said this verse,
saying that one can never escape the consequences of evildeeds. They will find us anywhere, nobody can hide from
them, even in the air, ocean or in a cave - the consequences will befall
us surely.